San Diego, CA
All Blacks overwhelm Fiji in San Diego
Scrum power ensured the All Blacks were untroubled for all but a few moments in their 47-5 Steinlager Ultra Low Carb Test in San Diego against Fiji on Saturday.
The All Blacks’ impressive scrum effort, backed by a much tidier lineout display, was backed by a much tidier lineout display. They relished the chance to build their plays while also introducing six new players to Test match play.
The Fijians enjoyed their best moments in the middle of the second half, doing the All Blacks a favour as they introduced their substitutes en masse, ensuring those newcomers received a realistic introduction to Test play. That was most obvious for halfback Noah Hotham, whose start was made in the first half after an injury to starting halfback Cortez Ratima was injured.
Complementing the scrum performance was strong running consistently through the game by second five-eighths Anton Lienert-Brown, who took on the Fijians every time he touched the ball. He worked well with debut centre Billy Proctor, who also enjoyed an impressive display, marking the occasion with a try.
Another to score on debut was replacement hooker George Bell, who drove over for the last try of the game.
The New Zealanders took full advantage of their 58 per cent first-half possession advantage to run the ball often, freed from the confines of England’s rush defence, to lead 26-5 at halftime. The Fijians’ accuracy did not help them, as they missed 26 first-half tackles compared to seven by the All Blacks.
While they improved in the second half, they were unable to complete the breakouts they achieved, several times losing the ball close to the All Blacks’ line.
The All Blacks settled into their routines, and it was a ninth-minute kick by first five-eighths Damian McKenzie to Sevu Reece on the right wing to create the first try. Reece passed inside to Proctor, who went to the ground. Quick ball saw McKenzie step through the line. He linked with fullback Beauden Barrett, and wing Caleb Clarke cut back against the grain for the try.
Three minutes later, from the first scrum, quick ball again saw second five-eighths Lienert-Brown make another break, and from the ruck Ratima, took a gap to score on starting debut.
Fiji struck back in the 17th minute, after a period in the All Blacks half. It was a cross-kick by first five-eighths Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula to wing Semi Redradra that opened their chance. In the tackle, the pass inside found fullback Vilimoni Botitu, who scored.
Proctor scorched onto the attack from the restart, and while points reward was not immediate, he was on hand from a 25th-minute scrum 15m out from the Fiji line when the All Blacks went right initially before moving back to the left, where Barrett fed Proctor through to score.
Fiji had no answer to the All Blacks’ scrum power, even on their ball, and from one scrum, the All Blacks pushed over the ball, won a penalty and kicked to the corner. Another penalty from the lineout play saw them opt for a tap penalty move. Hooker Asafo Aumua took the ball to the line, and it was No8 Ardie Savea, who was hard to stop whenever he had the ball in hand, running back across the ruck, who took the ball, propped and ducked through the defence to score.
Unfortunately, in the restart, Ratima was injured and forced to leave the field, giving Hotham his All Blacks debut.
In the follow-up play, Fiji attacked, and wing Jiuta Wainiqolo looked to have scored in McKenzie’s tackle, but a TMO check revealed he dropped the ball over the line.
Wing Sevu Reece was on the end of quick passing through the line to open the second half, scoring with his 17th Test match try three minutes after the start.
Clarke’s second try was denied in the 53rd minute after the TMO showed that the gap Reece took to create the movement was made possible because lock Scott Barrett took out Fijian replacement prop Haereiti Hetet off the ball.
But it was only a momentary setback as solid defence opened up more ball as the All Blacks flooded the field with their substitutes, who combined in the 58th minute when No8 Wallace Sititi ripped the ball free in a tackle. Hotham moved the ball to replacement prop Pasilio Tosi. He made ground before finding Sititi, who took the ball to the line, where replacement prop Ethan de Groot picked the ball up and charged over to score.
Sititi again featured with solid runs to set up the final try for Bell in the 76th minute.
Scorers: New Zealand 47 (Caleb Clarke, Cortez Ratima, Billy Proctor, Ardie Savea, Sevu Reece, Ethan de Groot, George Bell tries; Damian McKenzie 6 con) Fiji 5 (Vilimoni Botitu try). HT: 26-5.
Travel back more than 250 million years with PBS Eons during a special San Diego Comic-Con preview screening of Eons: Life and Death on Pangea before the series officially premieres.
On Saturday, July 25 at 10am, attendees can watch the first episode of the new four-part miniseries, which explores the Permian Period and the “Great Dying,” Earth’s largest known mass extinction event that wiped out more than 80% of all species.
Following the screening, hosts Gabriel-Philip Santos and Michelle Barboza-Ramirez, along with series writer Farhan Mitha, will take fans behind the scenes of the production and stick around for a Q&A about bringing this prehistoric world to life.
San Diego, CA
Gibraltar ushers in a new era as British territory’s border fence with Spain is removed
MADRID (AP) — Thousands of people who travel every day between the southern tip of Spain and the British territory of Gibraltar will no longer have to cross a physical border, beginning on Wednesday.
The official opening at midnight on Tuesday, after a border fence was removed, allows a new freedom of movement under a historic treaty between the European Union and the United Kingdom. It came after years of post-Brexit wrangling.
The contested British Overseas Territory of 38,000 people is perched at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, in a strategic location mere miles from Morocco where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea.
Soon after midnight, crowds crossed freely between Spain’s La Línea de Concepción and Gibraltar in both directions. Many wore Spanish soccer jerseys after Spain’s victory against France in the World Cup semifinal on Tuesday, adding to the celebratory mood.
“What you feel here is the brotherhood between the two people,” Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian Picardo told Spanish broadcaster RTVE.
A deal that took years to realize
When Britain left the EU in 2020, the relationship between Gibraltar and the bloc had been left unresolved.
Previous talks on a deal to ensure people and goods could keep flowing across the border had made halting progress. In 2025, the EU and U.K. announced an agreement on those issues, with the two sides and Gibraltar’s government signing a treaty Tuesday that eases border crossings.
The U.K.’s Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty said Tuesday that the agreement secured Gibraltar’s long-term economic future and interests.
Maroš Šefčovič, the EU’s trade representative, praised the agreement, too.
“It has taken four years of patient, complex negotiation, but the outcome speaks for itself,” Šefčovič said. “It is a very special feeling to see a fence come down.”
Without a deal, Gibraltar could have a faced a hard land border with full passport checks, posing economic risks for the territory deeply dependent on some 15,000 Spaniards — almost half Gibraltar’s workforce — who cross the frontier every day for work.
Mendez Segura, 51, crossed into Gibraltar from Spain on Wednesday for work, unused to the newfound freedom of movement.
“I’ve been crossing over and working in Gibraltar all my life with my identity card,” the home care worker said. “I know you’ll be able to cross without it, but it’s just what I’m used to.”
Leisure visits by people crossing both sides of the border would have been affected, too.
“People who are visiting family in Spain, or whose Spanish family is visiting them in Gibraltar. Children who are going to football matches and extracurricular activities, either in Spain or in Gibraltar. They will be able to do that without having to worry about frontier queues,” Picardo told The Associated Press in an interview.
The deal in effect brings the territory into the EU’s Schengen free travel area. At Gibraltar’s airport and port, entry and exit checks will be conducted by both U.K. and Spanish border officials. The arrangement is similar to what’s in place at Eurostar train stations in London and Paris, where both British and French officials check passports.
Gibraltar was ceded to Britain in 1713, but Spain has maintained its sovereignty claim ever since. Relations between the two countries on the issue of Gibraltar have had their ups and downs over the centuries. The treaty that removed the border fence does not resolve the territory’s contested status.
In Britain’s 2016 Brexit referendum, 96% of voters in the Rock, as the territory is popularly known in English, supported remaining in the EU.
Travelers to Gibraltar from countries outside the Schengen Area, including the U.K., will have to contend with the EU Entry-Exit System, or EES, which was rolled out in Europe in April and replaced passport stamps with biometric data collected through photographs and digital fingerprints.
Facial recognition cameras at the Rock
With the border fence gone, Gibraltar officials have set up live facial recognition cameras at entry points and throughout the territory.
Chief Minister Picardo said the territory will have many more CCTV cameras and that it has increased its police presence as well as resources for customs and Coast Guard agencies.
“The fortress has become a digital fortress now,” Picardo said.
The mariachi band broke into song as soon as the Tijuana Municipal Little League team stepped back onto its home field Monday afternoon. Cheers and applause erupted for the team, which over the weekend earned the coveted spot to represent Mexico in the Little League Baseball World Series.
The team of 11- and 12-year-olds won the Mexico region tournament title on Saturday by defeating the Matamoros Little League team 8-2 in Tamaulipas. They ended the tournament with a 7-1 record.
“We are very proud of what you have done and what you are about to embark on, because this is just the beginning,” said Darío Venegas, president of the Tijuana Municipal Children’s and Youth Baseball League, before handing out rings to commemorate the team’s regional crown.
This marks the third time that the Tijuana Municipal team has advanced to the tournament in Williamsport, Pa., following appearances in 2013 and 2023. Francisco Fimbres has been the manager for all three trips, and he hopes that the third time could be the charm.
“I feel blessed with these players,” he said. “(They) make me believe that we can get that championship.”
But the proud coach acknowledged that there’s still work to be done and that he has learned from the last two tournaments. In 2013, Mexico lost to Japan in the international championship and finished third. In 2023, they fell to Curaçao in the international semifinals.
During his speech at the Jorge Campillo baseball field in Tijuana on Monday, Fimbres urged players and parents to enjoy the moment, as he said it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
He described this year’s group of players as “una generación campeona,” or a “winning generation,” whom he has followed since they were 8 years old. “These kids have too much baseball in them,” he said. “They’re growing up and learning a lot, which will be great for their development.”
In 2023, an interaction between Fimbres and one of his players went viral. During the second inning, with the bases loaded, he noticed that his pitcher was nervous. He went to the mound to encourage him and remind him to have fun and not be afraid of making mistakes. “What if he hits a home run? Exactly, nothing happens,” he told him. “You’re a good pitcher. You’re better.” For many, this moment captured the spirit of the Little League competition.
This time will be special for Fimbres. He shared that this might be his last stint with the Tijuana Municipal team.
Pitcher and outfielder Jean Paul Lavenant said that he felt happy for “Pancho,” as he fondly calls his coach, and hoped to get the title for him.
Lavenant named Major League players Jonathan Aranda of the Tampa Bay Rays and Alejandro Kirk of the Toronto Blue Jays as his inspirations. Both players came from the Tijuana Municipal league.
The players said they have their minds set on bringing home the championship. “Nothing is impossible,” said pitcher and infielder Emiliano Kerber.
Coach Marcelo Santamaría, who was part of the 2023 coaching team, said he hopes this opportunity leaves a lasting impression on the players. “It’s every young baseball player’s dream to participate in this tournament,” he noted.
That’s what they emphasized to the players throughout their journey to earn a spot in Williamsport. Tijuana Municipal will kick off its Little League World Series run on Aug. 20 against the Australian region.
“Would you rather experience it on TV or in person?” pitcher and outfielder Esteban Bautista recalled his coaches asking them before the Mexico region championship game.
In person, it will be.
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